Lagardère Unlimited out to conquer Brazil

Lagardère Unlimited, the sports and entertainment division of French world-class diversified media group Lagardère, has established a presence in Brazil (LU Brazil) to develop its activities in this key sports market.

Through its LUArenas joint venture with local partner BWA, Lagardère Unlimited will continue to deploy its stadium and arena activities in Brazil with two Stadiums: Castelão (2014 FIFA World Cup Stadium) and Independência.

Lagardère Unlimited is already active in the sale of media rights in South America, and via LU Brazil will now also offer a wide range of capabilities including marketing services, events management and talent representation, in the country that will host both the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games. Aymeric Magne will head all of Lagardère Unlimited’s activities in Brazil.

In stadium and arena operations, Lagardère Unlimited and its partner BWA have set up LUArenas, a joint venture dedicated to stadium and arena operations, mainly in Brazil. This partnership will start with the operation of two stadiums, Arena Castelão in Fortaleza (a 2014 FIFA World Cup Stadium) and Arena Independência in Belo Horizonte (home of Clube Atlético Mineiro, current Copa Libertadores Champions). BWA has been active mainly in the ticketing and access control business for over 25 years and will bring its in-depth knowledge of the local sports market. Lagardère Unlimited will provide facility management and technical services to the highest international standards, bring content to arenas and offer marketing and commercial support to venues.

Lagardère Unlimited thus continues to develop its international portfolio of stadiums under management. Through the expertise of its fully owned subsidiary Lagardère Unlimited Stadium Solutions (LUSS), the agency has become a leading player in the global development and management of stadiums and arenas, and is now expanding its footprint in Brazil. LUSS is currently involved in consulting, as well as operations management and marketing services in several stadiums, including the Commerzbank Arena in Frankfurt, Imtech Arena in Hamburg, the Ferencvárosi Stadium in Budapest, four stadiums in Russia and a multipurpose arena in Qatar.

Alain Lemarchand stressed the importance of this new step: “Stadium management is a key element of our long-term strategy. We are very pleased and honoured to be partnering with BWA to boost the development of our strategy in this promising region.”

For Aymeric Magne: “By launching this new venture and thanks to our partnership in Brazil, I’m very confident in our capabilities to capitalize on our expertise to successfully develop our stadium and arenas operations.”